UK PM May gets top Saudi honor as UK bombs rain on Yemen civilians

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stands next to British Prime Minister Theresa May during a reception ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 5, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX346VW

SHAFAQNA – Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has presented visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May with the kingdom’s highest civilian honor as UK-supplied bombs keep raining on Yemenis during Riyadh’s war on the impoverished Arab country.

Salman presented the Order of King Abdulaziz to May on Wednesday during talks held in the al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh.

The order is named after the founder of the kingdom, Abdulaziz Al Saud, and is bestowed to citizens of Saudi Arabia and foreigners for meritorious service.

During the meeting, current bilateral relations and ways the increase ties in all fields were discussed.

Salam also held a luncheon banquet for the visiting British premier which was also attended by several Saudi dignitaries and the British ambassador to Saudi Arabia Simon Collis.

On Tuesday, May met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef after arriving in the kingdom following a trip to Jordan, where she discussed the expansion of bilateral ties with King Abdullah II.

May’s visit comes at a time when the UK is under pressure to halt its arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which is engaged in a military aggression against Yemen.

According to Amnesty international, since the onset of the war in 2015, the US and the UK have sold over $5 billion worth of weapons to the Riyadh regime, more than 10 times the $450 million they have allegedly spent to help save Yemeni civilians.

Saudi Arabia — backed by a number of African and Persian Gulf Arab states — launched the massive aggression against neighboring Yemen on March 26, 2015, in an attempt to reinstate former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a close ally of the despotic kingdom, and to crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement. The offensive has so far left over 12,000 Yemeni civilians dead, according to the latest tallies.